Tuesday, 24 March 2015

25 March 2015

After a slightly
shaky start, Dame Susan Devoy is starting to impress in her role as Race
Relations Commissioner. Her pronouncements have a strong flavour of common
sense and understanding of the real issues and concerns facing New Zealand’s
ethnic communities. And her recent call for an increase in the number of quota
refugees accepted each year – from 750 to 1,000 – is both timely and correct.

The role of Race
Relations Commissioner is a difficult one at the best of times – a balancing
act to challenge all balancing acts. New Zealand has been fortunate in the
consistently high calibre of its Race Relations Commissioners, since the
initial appointment of Harry Dansey back in 1969. Arguably, in today’s diverse
global environment where ethnic and cultural stigmatisation has become the new
form of discrimination, the role is even more vital than ever, both to protect
the rights of the affected minorities, and to stand up for balance and justice
throughout the national community.

But all this
might be about to change. There is currently legislation before Parliament to
“streamline” the role and function of the Human Rights Commission, of which the
Race Relations Commissioner is part. One change does away with that specific
role, arguing instead that greater mainstreaming of the Commissioner’s role
into the overall tapestry of the Human Rights Commission will place race
relations issues much more at the core of the Commission’s functions that has
been the case to date. The counter-argument, which has far more credibility, is
that these changes will remove the specific focus on race relations issues and
make it more difficult for ethnic communities to lobby and raise concerns when
they feel disadvantaged. At a time when the phobias around various ethnic
communities, their religions and cultures are rising irrationally in some
quarters because of the perceived tangential link to international terrorism,
this has to be a backward step.

Now, at this
point, I have a major apology to offer. This legislation was introduced before
last year’s election, and frankly slipped by my and UnitedFuture’s radar
screens. I voted for the Bill’s introduction and agreed as part of our
confidence and supply agreement to support the Bill through to its Second
Reading. I state that as a fact, not an excuse. However, I have now advised the
Government that I will not be supporting the Bill beyond its Second Reading,
unless the position of Race Relations Commissioner is retained.

If anything,
given the Government’s attention to “foreign fighters” and related issues, this
is the time to be seen to be strengthening the role of the Race Relations
Commissioner, not abolishing it. As Dame Susan grows in confidence and
assurance in her role, the suspicion otherwise will be she is being silenced
early, lest she become too troublesome later. Hardly a good look in a
self-proclaimed tolerant society.